During the 2018 SXSW Festival over the weekend, showrunner Joe Pokaski, Marvel’s Head of Television, Jeph Loeb, and pilot director, Gina Prince-Bythewood all opened up about how Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph got their roles.

While Olivia was a frontrunner from the start, Cloak was more difficult to come by, especially when they wanted someone who would “crackle on screen with their Dagger,” according to Rotten Tomatoes.

Both Olivia and Aubrey recalled the day they had their final audition together, and how there was “undeniable chemistry” in the room when they began.

“It felt like we were the only two people in the room,” Olivia says. “It didn’t feel like there were 12 people sitting there watching us.”

The two stars were joined by the creative team and chatted about the new series, which will make it’s Freeform debut in June.

Speaking with Insider recently, Olivia opened up about how the romance between Tandy and Tyrone on the series is a game changer.

“We’re changing the game in an organic, authentic and effortless way,” she says. “We’re not forcing anything, which I think is even more exciting than what it normally would feel like.”

Olivia adds that “having the opportunity to bring a comic superhero to life is surreal. I’m grateful and honored to be a part of the [Marvel] Universe, to tell these character’s stories, and to bring them to life in a way that, not just fans of the comics for years will like, but a new audience and generation will hopefully grasp on to.”

The new trailer shows both Tandy Bowen (Holt) and Tyrone Johnson (Joseph) leading two completely different lives, who suddenly find themselves burdened by and awakened to newly discovered superpowers, which also happen to be mysteriously linked to each other.

The new Freeform series, which will officially debut on the network in June, will also host a world premiere watch party during 2018 SXSW in Austin, Texas, next weekend on March 11th.

Olivia and Aubrey, along with executive producer/showrunner Joe Pokaski, director Gina Prince-Bythewood, and executive producer and Marvel’s Head of Television Jeph Loeb, will also be at the event to host a Q&A panel event about the series.

Speaking with Teen Vogue, the actress opened up about playing Tandy aka Dagger, her “badass” superpowers and working with co-star Aubrey Joseph.

“I’m stoked to have a light dagger come out of my hand whenever I feel like it. It’s such a powerful, feminine and badass thing,” Olivia dished, before chatting about the focus on the characters.

“I feel like these characters are so complicated,” she shared, “and the things they are going through are the things that are happening in this day and age.”

She continues, “It really tells the story of what a white female is going through in 2018 and what a black young male is going through in 2018. We see these characters unfold into themselves in the most complex ways, and I feel as humans we connect to that.”

And working with Aubrey, aka Tyrone/Cloak, is one of her favorite things.

“I don’t use these words lightly, but I feel like he’s a literal superhuman,” Olivia says. “He is such a delight to work with, and so talented in a raw way. He’s naturally a person you gravitate towards, and I’m so lucky to have a partner on a show who just wants to create something that is special and important.”

Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger is more than just a superhero show — sure, it centers on two teens with gifted with extraordinary powers, but it’s still more than just that.

Stars Olivia Holt and Aubrey Joseph opened up during a panel during the recent Freeform Summit about the show and the importance and timeliness of it as well.

“The most important thing was to tell a story of a young woman who gets these powers, who does the wrong thing sometimes and slowly finds herself a hero,” showrunner Joe Pokaski shared. “And the story of a young black man who has a harder climb than Peter Parker, that has a harder climb than Tony Stark, and yet has to overcome and protect everybody else.”

Aubrey, who will play Tyrone Johnson (aka Cloak) adds that this role was unlike any other for him.

“It was one of the first roles that, to me, fully showcased what it is to be a young black male in America right now,” he said. “And I feel like there’s no – we’re getting better, obviously, Atlanta being a show and things like that.”

He adds, “Before this, most of the roles that I was going in for is, like, ‘young black kid’ on Law & Order getting shot. We finally got a chance to tell the story that a young black male goes through the same things that anyone else has, and has the same hopes and dreams.”

Olivia, who plays Tandy (aka Dagger), echoes his stance: “I feel like this is such a right time to have a show like this. Just in our generation and in this day and age and focusing on current subjects and hard topics to actually talk about.”